I somehow got out of going to work on Friday, my actual birthday, and started the day right with breakfast at the Nova Cafe. I got a vegetable scramber, hashbrowns, and substituted a gluten free mango coconut muffin for toast. So good.
I also somehow found someone this guy I met on a climbing website, Mike, to drive up to Blackleaf with me from Bozeman, which was great because driving 4 hours solo is just unnecessary and it would mean I could climb an extra day, since the others heading up to Blackleaf weren't getting there until Friday night or Saturday morning. We'd climbed together once before in Bozeman and I had kinda got my ass kicked, in a good way.
We left at 8:30 to get up in time for a good afternoon of climbing. We got to the wall around 2:00 after establishing camp and warmed up on an 11.a multi-pitch route. No joke, the first thing we climbed was a 6 pitch climb (~500 feet). Luckily it was mostly 5.9-5.10 with only one pitch of 11.a, but still. It took one climb before I was addicted to multipitch. Before that I'd only climbed a single 2 pitch climb with a nice giant ledge for the 2nd belay. Here I learned how to lead belay with my feet dangling in the air. We then got down, ate some snacks, and then climbed the 3 pitch "Shotgun Wedding." I lead the first pitch (5.8) and toproped the next two (5.10ds). We got most the way up this wall on the two different routes. It was exactly what I wanted for my birthday!
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| Sun and shadows. |
That night, a bunch of people from the Missoula/Kalispell climbing crew arrived. I spend the night of my 25th birthday with a guy I'd spent a day and a half with and two total strangers, Matt and Cindy, all of whom were awesome! They are no longer strangers!
We woke up the next morning, and Mike hauled me up "Zen and the Art of Bolting"; another 6 pitch climb. I lead the first route, then toproped the rest. It was consistent back to back leading and climbing more strenuous routes and it was awesome to be able to get through it! I had to take a break to hunt my way through the 11.b route, but I made it non-the-less with only 2 or 3 falls/hangs the entire route. I was stoked! Mike climbed the last pitch, a 12.b.
Back on earth about 3 hours later I tried to onsite my first 5.10d (which means leading a route clean the first time you try it -- no falling or hanging on the rope). I clipped the 9th bolt (of 10 total) and couldn't make the last move to get to the last bolt. I tried and fell 3 times before giving up. I was still really glad I tried. It was really awesome to have encouragement from someone I felt could push me to my limits but not beyond them. I onsighted "G-Force" (5.10b) as a consolation prize. We ended the day on "Mr.Sharpie", which was very much uncomfortably sharp. Pretty quickly clouds moved in, we felt sprinkles, and called it a day. We headed back to camp and rendezvoused with the other climbers for dinner and a fire.
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| The crew; crashpad couch and all! The dogs had a great time. |
The next day we got a whole lot of fun climbs in and stayed away from the routes with more than 2 pitches. I started the day by leading a 5.9 "Legal Eagles". At first I was feeling a little out of it. Even after the second climb "Messin' with my Mojo" (I skipped the 11.d second pitch and just belayed Mike) I was still not feeling it. So to get back in the game I lead "Like a Fox" -- and suprised myself by onsighting my first 5.10c! I've lead c's before, but have either fallen or taken a break. This one was a little overhanging. Probably one of my most favorite climbs of all time! Super, powerful moves and a little bit of traversing. I was feeling motivated, and after a short break, Mike encouraged me to climb the first pitch of "Prozac Moments" (5.10+). I needed one break but other than that I made it up! Stoked to finally be making it up harder routes and doing so almost cleanly. Mike lead the second pitch, a 12.b, and he fell for the first time that weekend but still made it up.
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| Mike on repel. Not sure of the route. As we climbed up the cliff, we traveled through time. Roughly every 100 feet was completely different rock (all limestone but different textures, deposits, grip, holds...). If we looked carefully we could see fossils of ancient sea creatures! |
We were feeling pretty done after that. I lead one more route ("Spare Change" a 10.a/b), which had a super tricky move near the top. I had to high step to a completely bent knee and straighten it, with the very edges of my fingertips holding me on the wall. Hard but fun, once I had made the move anyways. My wounds from the weekend were minor. Scraped up legs and very red fingertips.
It was such a good weekend -- awesome to meet new people, get on some harder routes, learn how to do multipitch. Probably the most memorable moment was when the wind was blowing hard as I was climbing about 350 feet off the ground. I literally thought "What the fuck am I doing?" and "This is some of the most alive I've ever felt" at the same time. It was powerful.
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| The right wall is completely undeveloped. |
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